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This is not lying down; this is Savasana.

How many times have you heard a friend tell you how tired they are from their vacation or their weekend off? Does it seem to you that in our society that many of us have lost the ability to truly relax and refuel? With my own hectic life I definitely feel that way sometimes, but it also seems to me that yoga is definitely helping with that…

Most yoga classes start and almost all end with the same pose: Savasana (corpse pose). It seems like the easiest part when you first start out, you just lay there–right? And yet I feel like most yogis would agree that that is dead wrong (pun very much intended, hehe).

Savasana is actually one of the more difficult poses to master because you’re not just laying there, (when you’re doing it right) you’re actively putting your intention towards practicing stillness and relaxation–because when you do it too passively your mind begins to wander and the pose looses a lot of its benefit.

Savasana is about learning how to slow down and utilize the time you are given to rest. This is especially clear in a Bikram class; his style of yoga is made to be physically challenging and a big part of succeeding in Bikram yoga is to learn how to make the transition from 100% effort to 100% relaxation as quickly as possible in order to make the most of every Savasana–no matter how short it is.

Practicing Savasana in your yoga practice can teach you how to really unwind and make the most of any opportunity to recharge, no matter how short or long you have to relax between poses (or any of your other activities off the mat).